ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions practically stomped their feet trying to convince everyone during the spring that Ndamukong Suh's contract would not be a distraction.

We are grown men, they would say. We are professionals, they would say.

Who cares about that, they would say. And let's play some ball!

Fast-forward to Monday, the first day of training camp, and it's clear exactly who cares. Everyone.

The Lions practiced for the first time Monday, a day that should have festively ushered in the Jim Caldwell era. Instead it was hijacked by the news that Detroit had decided to break off contract negotiations with Suh until the end of the season.

It created the type of distraction that general manager Martin Mayhew feared could occur later in camp, or even during the season. And that fueled Detroit's decision to cut off negotiations now.

"I don't think (negotiating contracts during the season is) conducive to guys being focused and playing their best," Mayhew said. "I know a lot of players think they can handle that situation, but sometimes they can't, and they don't know until they get into it.

"Also, I think it's not really fair to the rest of our team. We're focused on playing football here. I don't want people asking other players about players' contracts. We have other guys whose contracts are expiring as well, you know. I just did not think it was a good situation for us to move forward in. I thought it would be better for us to focus on playing football this year, and that's where it came from."

Suh said over and over again that his contract business wouldn't distract from the team. But that always smelled like baloney -- contract disputes have a way of turning into distractions, especially when they involve star players.

So the Lions did the smart thing, and ended the negotiations now.

That created a monster distraction to open camp, of course. The move stole the show from players such as Darius Slay and Theo Riddick and Larry Warford -- guys who had a really good first day, but had to take a backseat to Suh's ongoing drama.

But at the same time, Monday's move will choke off the Suh drama in early August. By the start of the season, the dust will have settled and Detroit can go about its business with relatively few distractions on the Suh front. (At least as far as the contract is concerned.)

So in that way, this move was a good one, even if it did seem to come a day late. My biggest question after digesting Monday's events: Why not announce this news Sunday, before camp had started?

The media already was gathered in a room for Jim Caldwell's opening press conference. Detroit could have just gotten all this nonsense out of the way then, and let Monday be about the football.

Mayhew and Tom Lewand are smart men, and they must have had a reason for waiting until Monday. It's just hard to figure out what it was.

Anyway, aside from the timing, Detroit handled this thing smartly. All those fans who are clamoring for the Suh stuff to stop -- hello, faithful MLive commenters -- you are about to get your wish.

This thing's going away, at least for now. And Detroit is better off for it.

How this whole saga ends is anyone's guess. Negotiations clearly haven't unfolded how the Lions anticipated, and neither side would discuss the sticking point.

Detroit needs to sign Suh to a long-term deal, both from a football (Suh's, like, really good) and financial (Suh carries $9.8 million in dead money, and would surpass $30 million in total cap hit under the franchise tag) perspective.

Suh, for his part, says he wants to be in Detroit long term.

If both sides are telling the truth -- a big if, in negotiations like these -- that implies the sides are too far apart on the money.

I get the impression that Suh would prefer to test free agency, and that's probably where this thing is headed unless the Lions make him an offer he can't refuse.

But it looks like that offer, or any offer, won't be coming in 2014. Given the circumstances, that's probably best for everyone involved.